Zhanqing Li and his team recently published a ten year study that found that aerosols alter cloud density and the radiative balance of the atmosphere. Li’s paper examines the long-term impact of aerosols on the vertical development of clouds and rainfall frequencies, using a 10-year dataset of aerosol, cloud and meteorological variables collected in the Southern Great Plains in the United States.
The paper was published in Nature Geoscience Journal online here:
http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ngeo1313.html
It will also be in the December print issue.
The paper was also featured in Science News:
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/336040/title/Dirty_air_fosters_precipitation_extremes
And Science Daily:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111113141304.htm
The National Science Foundation cited the paper:
http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=122231
Discovery News
http://news.discovery.com/earth/aerosol-pollution-linked-to-extreme-weather-111114.html
RedOrbit
Examiner
MSN
http://green.in.msn.com/environmentalthreats/article.aspx?cp-documentid=5591883
Pakistan Observer
http://pakobserver.net/201111/17/detailnews.asp?id=125492
(Related: See the “Featured-@-ESSIC” article on the Li-Led Study here.)
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